Boiler washing and filling system



F. W. MILLER.

BOILER WASHING AND FILLING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAYI. 1917.

1,357,717, Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

WITNESS v W INVbTII/TOR. B 7 I '4 1@ A TTORNEYS.

FRANK w. MILLER], or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BOILER WASHING AND FILLING SYSTEM.

To alliitvhom it may concern:

Be it known that I FnANK W. Mmnnn, a-

citizen of the United states, residing at'Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Boiler Washing and Filling Systems, of which the 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to boiler. washing and filling systems by means of which locomotive boilers are blown off, washed out and refilled with hot water, .and has for one of its primary objects the provision or a system of this character which will be extremely simple in construction and operation and which can be installed at a low cost.

Systems of this general character customarily have provisions for conserving both the blow-0d steam and blow-oft water, the

steam being utilized for heating the fresh refilling water while the blow-ofi water is returned to the boiler either for washout or refilling purposes. In many localities, howv ever, the conservation of the blow-oii water isnot of suificient importance to justify the expense of installation and maintenance of a complicated and costly system. And furthermore, in some instances, because of the character of the water it is inadvisable to return the blow-ofi water to the boiler for any purpose whatsoever. One of the features of my present invention consists in providlng a system which will conserve and utilize the blow-off steam while permitting the blow-ofi water to be discharged to the sewer, and in delivering water to the locomotive at suitable temperatures for both the washout and refilling purposes.

Another feature of my invention consists in using but one tank, which contains the waterfor both washout and refilling purposes, and in conducting this water to the boiler for both washout and refilling purposes through a single pipe line, thereby eliminating one of the tanks and one of the pipe lines which have heretofore'been customarily considered necessary.

A further feature of my invention consists in maintaining the water in the tank at suitable temperature for washout purposes so that it can be used in washing out a loco-' motive boiler. without being tempered, and also in the provision or means whereby the temperature of the water may be increased when it is being used for refilling purposes.

15 or the purpose of tacilitatinga'n under- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 7, 1917. Serial No. iezosn On the. draw.ings- Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

standing of my invention have illustrated :on the accompanying sheet of drawings,

somewhat diagrammatically, one practical Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the means whereby the water is further heated for refilling purposes.

Referring to the drawings, reference character 5 indicates a single tank, of suficient capacity to contain a supply of water for both washout and refilling purposes. Water is supplied to this tank from a city main or other suitable source of supply through a pipe 6 which is equipped with a nozzle 7 projecting through a crossfitting8 into a delivery pipe 9 which extends downwardly in the tank below the water level therein and is provided at its lower end with a drum or silent steam delivery device 11. A constant predetermined water level is maintained in the tank by means of a float mechanism comprising a float valve 12 interposed I in the pipe 6-and controlled by a fioat 13 of well known construction attached to a pipe let which is connected directly with the tank 5, through the pump suction pipe 15 connected at one end with the pump 16, and at its other end with the interior of the tank.

The steam blown off from a locomotive, indicated generally by reference character 16, through the blow ofi drop 1-7 connected to the dome of the locomotive or any other 'vacuum causedby a condensation of the" steam when it comes in contact with the cold water, reduces the back pressure in the blow- 7 ltd blow-oft steam under high pressure from backing up in the exhaust steam line 19, I have provided this line with a check valve 22. The admission of the exhaust steam to the tank is automatically regulated by a thermostatically controlled valve 23? which is automatically opened and closed by a Y thermostatic element 2 1 projecting into the water in the tank. When the water is below the temperature desired for washout purposes exhaust steam is admitted, and when the maximum washout temperature has been reached the valve 23 is automatically closed,

'so that the water never becomes hotter than it canbe' handled by the washer. It will be, manifest therefore that I have made .pro-

vision for the maintenance of a supply of water which is always at the proper temperature for washing out a locomotive.

This water is conducted to the round- 3 house for both washout and refilling purposes through apipe line 25,;the water bemg withdrawn from the tank through the I suction pipe 15 into the pump 16) and :de-

washout and refillin livered by the pump under pressure to' the is preferably steam-c riven and receives the steam by which it isv operated through a branch pipe 26 connected with a live steam supply. pipe 27, which receives its steam from the ower boilers or any. other suitable source. he exhaust steam from the pump is deliveredthrough the branch pipe 28'int .o the exhaust steam line 19, sothat italso 1s.

delivered to the tank 5to heat the vwater therein.

post 29 is provided with a drop 31 connected at itsupper end with the washout and refilling line 25. The water from thetank' is delivered to these drops through the pipe line 25; and when it is being used for washout purposes the flexible hose 32 is equipped with the usual washout nozzle by means of which the washer delivers thewater into the different points of the boiler to thoroughly clean the same. The drop is provided with the usual hand valve 33 by means of which the water may be shut off or turned on as desired.

Since it is desirable to deliver the refilling water to the boiler at a much higher temperature than the washout water I have made provision for raising the {temperature of the water at the drop so that it will be delivered to the boiler at as high a temperature as is practicable.

view I have provided a live steam dropiit- With this end in line 25. The ump,

he amount ofsteam ad-' mitted maybe regulated by a hand valve 138 or, if preferred, an automatic thermostatically controlled valve might be substituted for this hand valve so as to relievethe attendant of the duty of turning on the requisite amount of steam. In order to preventthe steam from backing up "in the water drop in the event the water pressure became .undul low and the steam pressure unduly have provided a check valve 39 inter-' high posed preferably between the nozzle 37 and the hand valve 33.

In the operation of my system the water in the locomotive is blown off directly into the pit, from whence it is discharged into the sewer and the blow-off steam is conducted to the tank" 5 where it heats the water therein. This steam is also supplemerited, aspreviously described, by exhaust steam fromthe power lent, the admission of which is automatically controlled so' that the temperature of the waterin the tank is always suitable for washout purposes. The

water is withdrawn from the tank and de-' livered to the drops of the roundhouse at suitable temperature for washing out, and when the washing out operation has been completed the' hose is fixedly connectedto the boiler and the water is turned on to re- V fill the boiler. When; the refilling operation At'each washout pit in the roundhouse' the is begun the live steam is also'turned on which, as it mixes with thevrater, materially raises its temperature so that when the boiler is filledsteam may be quickly gotten :It a ia-us be manifest that I has pm vided a systemwhich is extremely simple and which delivers uncontaminated water to the boiler through. a single pipe line for both washoutv and refilling purposes, the

washout water being always at the requisite temperature and the refilling water being raised in temperature to any desirable dea gree. Thedetailsoit construction illustrated and described are,.offcourse, capable of considerable modification and variation withwith said tankbelow the water level therein and adapted to be connected to a locomotive boiler whereby blow-01f steam only from a locomotive boiler is conducted to said tank to heat the water therein, thermostatically cont-rolled means for maintaining the water in said tank at a predetermined 10 temperature suitable for wash-out purposes,

means for conducting said water from said tank to the drops in a round house, an independent source of steam supply, and means at the drops whereby steam from said independent source is utilized to further heat said partially heated Water to brin the same to a temperature suitable for refilling purposes.

FRANK WQIMILLER. 

